Storytelling Shifts in Aurelia

Wow! It’s hard to believe: the hard-working and passionate actors of AURELIA have been at this story co-creation project for eight weeks now. For those who started during the beta period, that’s more like ten! Our team continues to be amazed at the dedication of those who’ve stuck with us through thick and thin.

We have also noticed an interesting shift that’s starting to occur.

Traditionally in a three-act story, the hero sets out on a journey (literal or metaphoric) and enters a new world where s/he must learn new skills and ways of dealing with the world. Often, at the midpoint, the true villain is revealed, and a central crisis calls the hero to begin turning newfound skills toward the central problem of the story — the one the hero will “solve” at the end. In the second half of the story, problems and obstacles mount. The hero may lose friends or alliances, and the closer the showdown with villainous forces, the more his/her growth will be tested to the max.

This arc has proved true in Aurelia. But the funny this is: it’s happened organically, rather than through the coordination of a single storyteller.

Perhaps it’s the natural progression of a story arc that actors know is heading to conclusion. Or perhaps, it’s merely a reflection of the fact that our actors are on a hero’s journey of their own. Either way, we’re definitely watching characters’ stories reflect the mounting obstacles typical in the second half.

Somehow, seamlessly, our actors’ many storylines have settled into the age-old hero’s journey. The question now remains: will they clinch victory for themselves in the end, or will their character succumb to the darkness of the world?